Oasis Palm Beach

WILLOUGHBY: This city is hungry

THE Gold Coast is hungry.

In fact, we're all starving. We want decent food, quality service and more adventurous menus.  We want to stop being treated like the tourists.

The almost 12,000 people who headed to Surfers Paradise's A La Carte in the Park would agree.

Last weekend, droves of people basked in the sun, enjoying little plates of delights from venues across the strip.

There is such a demand for food festivals that, on Saturday, many of the stalls just run out of tucker. 

It was a 'foodie' weekend for my household.

After enjoying the wine, food and bocce in the park at Peninsula Drive (thanks Surfers Paradise Alliance), we went into Broadbeach for tapas at Espana on Sunday.

Owners Brad and Thea Pearce are very proud.

They were umming and ahhing about opening Espana.

But Simon Gloftis at Hellenika at Nobby Beach gave them inspiration.

Hellenika, a Melbourne-inspired Greek restaurant, opened last year and has been pretty well booked out ever since.

``We had been thinking about it for some time and then we went to Hellenika and saw how successful it was,'' said Brad, who's been in the food industry since he was 17.

``It wasn't just plastic chairs on the street. It gave me the confidence to try something different.''

And boy is he glad he did, with the 28-seater hole-in-the-wall at Oasis Shopping Centre catering to more than 100 diners each night.

``It has been phenomenal. On Monday and Tuesday night, we had people queuing up to get in.''

Across the Coast, there is a rumbling of change.

Young foodies with a passion to help sway the Coast's chain store reputation are opening one-off little cafes in pockets close to the ocean.

Mr Gloftis may be credited for starting that movement, unveiling a string of popular cafes -- Three Beans, Little Beans and Piccolo -- before settling in at Hellenika.

Now we have a few others worth boasting about -- Elk at Broadbeach, Vintage and Gov's at Mermaid Beach, Commune at Burleigh Heads and Barefoot Barista at Palm Beach.

All of these are packed with that 'vintage movement' sweeping the city's caf scene.

Do you remember the drama with Vintage and the car park?

Council threatened to shut it down because it was so popular -- it has around 1500 fans on Facebook.

Its popularity meant coffee lovers were parking in the neighbouring shopping centre, angering tenants.

Oasis Palm Beach Reopens In Cancun | Cancun.travel

From now through June 30, 2011, the beachfront resort is offering a special reopening rate of just $73 per person, per night, inclusive of taxes and gratuities, for a double room. What makes this even more affordable for families is the Kids Stay and Eat Free program which allows two children under the age of 12 to stay and eat free when sharing a room with two paying adults.

Designed for family getaways, the 470-room Oasis Palm Beach is situated on a white sandy beach along a calm stretch of the Caribbean Sea. Resort guests enjoy a multitude of facilities including: a serpentine pool that winds through beautiful tropical gardens, palapas and chaise lounges on the beach, spa, beauty salon, tennis courts, fitness center, and water sports including complimentary use of kayaks, surfboards and paddleboats. An “Animation Team” presents fun interactive activities for guests throughout the day and live entertainment nightly.

With seven restaurants offering everything from Mexican and Caribbean specialties to Mediterranean and sushi, the dining options are as numerous as the activities. There are six bars for tropical cocktails and drinks. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks are included as part of the resort’s all-inclusive program.

The Oasis Palm Beach is the third Oasis Hotels and Resort property to reopen since the brand returned to the Cancun marketplace in March 2011 with the opening of the Grand Oasis Cancun and the Oasis Cancun resorts.

For reservations, call (800) 44-OASIS.

ABOUT OASIS HOTELS & RESORTS Oasis Hotels & Resorts provides a trademark Cancun all-inclusive resort experience which focuses on properties that feature some of the finest beach locations in Cancun; the largest pool in Cancun (at the Grand Oasis Cancun and Oasis Cancun); an affordable family program where two kids 12 and under stay and eat free when sharing a room with their parents; a wide variety of dining options that range from buffets to Italian to Mexican, steakhouses, etc.; beautifully landscaped grounds; tennis and water sports activities; and more.

It is anticipated that by the end of Spring 2011, Oasis Hotels & Resorts will once again operate seven properties in Cancun, Mexico including five all-inclusive resorts: Grand Oasis Cancun, Oasis Cancun, Oasis Palm Beach, Grand Oasis Playa, and the Grand Oasis Caribbean Resort; as well as two regular hotels (not all-inclusive): Oasis America and Sens Resort. Currently, the Grand Oasis Cancun, Oasis Cancun, and Oasis Palm Beach properties are open for guests.

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